Retro Handmade Punch Boxes Hold Sweet Messages on Scrolls

Oakland-based Lea Redmond of creative studio Leafcutter Designs has made a cool retro-modern version of the punchboard, a nearly-forgotten parlor game from the 1920s and 1930s that are “a playful object with tiny compartments containing little paper scrolls that are only revealed when “punched” out”. Her handmade Punch Boxes hold sweet customizable scrolled messages and may be just the thing to cleverly reveal your thoughts of love on Valentine’s Day. You can take a peek at the 12 standard messages or make your own for a few dollars more. This project was funded by a successful 2011 Kickstarter campaign.

We have previously posted about Lea’s projects, including the World’s Smallest Post Service and The Small Times, a mini newspaper for the World’s Smallest Post Service Kit.

Collectors Weekly recently ran an interesting article titled Reformed Gambling Swindle Becomes a Punch Board of Love on the unsavory history of punchboards and Lea’s refreshing new take on them.

…the origins of these pre-smartphone amusements are not so cutesy. First designed for gambling, punch boards quickly became the go-to scam for gangsters and mobsters like Jack Ruby, con artists, and lottery operators hoping to swindle the gullible. We found a thorough history of the parlor games’ less-than-savory past at Punchboard.com.